Sunday, January 29, 2012

Christina Aguilera was in rare form Saturday night. The singer wore a conservative (by her standards) skirt suit and teared up as she stood on stage at an L.A.-area church while telling hundreds of mourners of her admiration for the late Etta James.

The blonde delivered a heartfelt speech about her connection to the soul singer, who passed away at the age of 73 on January 20. Aguilera nervously explained her love for James and her music and told the crowd she's performed "At Last" at every single one of her concerts over the last 10 years. "I've aspired to sing like her, to be like her, to emulate her notes and her passion, and the love for what she did," Aguilera said before breaking out into song.